


Tongue Tied Over Three Words

by twoshipsdrifting



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: I'm sorry for all the smoking tbh, M/M, Multi, not even sure how that happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 22:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3334862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoshipsdrifting/pseuds/twoshipsdrifting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A canon compliant piece where Zayn knows all of his boys well enough to get just what he wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tongue Tied Over Three Words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatbroadcast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatbroadcast/gifts).



Louis was first – which may be surprising but Zayn wasn’t stupid.   
Louis had a lot of influence over the boys and Zayn had a feeling he’d need Louis on his side if this was going to happen.   
Key word being if.   

  
Zayn blew out a sigh and passed over the joint, not missing the way Louis’ brows arched.   
He used to think he was hard to read – but maybe it was just more the fact that no one had ever known him as well as these four boys did.  
Louis gives him a moment, taking a drag on the joint.   
There’s a few beats of relative quiet, Zayn forgets whatever music is even playing in the background, and Louis exhales.   
  
Zayn doesn’t say anything as the smoke curls up and into the air.   
            “’S it,” Louis asks, syllables clipped short like him acting tough will guarantee Zayn tells him what he wants to know.   
            “Nothing.”   
Louis scoffs and takes Zayn’s turn.   
Zayn’s lips curl up a bit at the way Louis watches Zayn watch him do it.   
“Such an arsehole,” Zayn offers up.   
Louis exhales and takes another drag in quick succession.   
            “You know me best Malik,” Louis says finally. 

It’s the time between joints, neither of them really sure if there will be another tonight, when Louis asks again.   
            “Seriously,” he says, not very seriously at all, “what’s going on?”   
            “Just thinking,” Zayn says.   
            “No shit,” Louis snorts.   
            “Like…tired of being alone.”  
            “You’re not alone,” Louis says, more of an automatic response than anything else.   
            “Dating is psychotic,” Zayn corrects, rather than punching him.   
            “Right,” Louis says, stretching to reach for another joint.  “What’s your plan then?”  
   
The lighter flicks to life and he inhales deeply as he waits for Zayn’s response.   
Zayn still hasn’t said anything by the time he exhales and hands the joint over.   
“Hookers are risky,” Louis says, “but I’m always up for an adventure.  Perez would come up with something bitchy, I’m sure.”  
Zayn scowls.   
            “I don’t want to date a hooker Louis.”   
  
He wraps his lips around the joint as Louis cackles delightedly.   
            “Right.  Mate, you’d _be_ the pretty woman.”   
Zayn coughs out most of the smoke, closing his eyes as they water.   
This time, he does punch Louis.   
            “Don’t act like that movie doesn’t make you cry.”   
Louis gasps before jumping on him. 

They nearly start a fire and there’s definitely a new hole burned in Zayn’s jeans – but it’s alright.   
The seed is planted.

…

A lot of people don’t get Zayn and Harry.   
Zayn’s private and doesn’t like to go out.   
Harry on the other hand basically never stays in.   
But just because they don’t go out together doesn’t mean they don’t spend time together.  
   
Tonight Zayn finds Harry laying on the greenroom floor.   
His journal is open and possibly abandoned next to him.   
Zayn steps over him to lay down on his opposite side. 

            “Hey,” Harry offers eventually.   
Zayn hums.   
“Alright?”   
            “Could do with a cuddle,” Zayn offers, smiling a bit.   
Harry plasters himself to Zayn’s side, throwing a leg over his knees just for good measure.   
Zayn laughs at that, feeling light from his chest all the way down to his toes.   
They’re not laying there for very long before Louis and Liam come tearing through, up to god knows what.   
This time around Zayn doesn’t particularly care.   
Harry perks up at that though, pushing up onto one elbow as his eyes follow them through the room. 

Zayn reaches around him and grabs his journal, flipping it closed and tucking it under his back.   
            “Hey,” Harry protests softly.   
            “Not getting it back unless you earn it,” Zayn tells him, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.   
Harry laughs brightly at that.   
            “Oh, really?  And what’s the price?”   
 _A kiss_ Zayn wants to say.   
He doesn’t though, lips curling softly.   
Instead Zayn opens his arms again, waiting for Harry to flop on top of him.   
With a sigh that’s far too large, Harry does just that.

He scribbles a word or two along Zayn’s collarbone before kidnapping his left arm as well.   
Zayn will have to wash it off before the show but he doesn’t really mind.   
He presses a kiss to Harry’s curls.   
            “This is nice,” he says, only half ignoring the way Harry’s pushing the words _black and blue lust_ into the skin just inside his elbow.   
            “Yeah,” Harry says, peeking up at him for a short moment.  “Yeah.”

…

Niall’s next – but it’s better not to be direct with him.   
Rather Zayn circles back to Louis.   
Gives that seed a little sunshine and attention.   
            “Nialler’s looking well fit lately,” he says before falling silent again.   
Louis scratches at his thin little beard, nodding before pausing and looking to Zayn.   
He looks confused a moment, calculating the next.   
            “What’s that?”   
Zayn shrugs, knowing that will only irritate Louis more.   
  
            “He’s not,” Louis says after a prolonged pause.   
He settles back on the sofa, sitting in a way that Zayn knows means he’s uncomfortable.   
Zayn bites down on his smile.   
“Like a little – little pink hobgoblin,” Louis mutters.  “Not attractive at all.”   
            “I don’t agree.”   
Louis’ mouth screws up at that. 

            “You can’t have Niall,” he says then.  “You can’t.  He’s mine.”   
            “What?” Zayn asks, working equally as hard not to laugh as he does to sound confused.   
            “I said he’s mine.”   
            “Alright,” Zayn says easily enough, falling silent for a short moment.  “What about Liam then?  He’s gotten huge.”   
            “No,” Louis sniffs.  “Liam’s mine too.  And so is Harry.  You can have Paul.”   
Zayn bursts out laughing at that.   
  
            “Paul’s married,” Zayn points out breathlessly.  He feels near hysterical.   
            “So are they,” Louis insists.  “To me.  Common law.  We’re married.”   
            “If that’s your reasoning then they’re married to me too Lou.”   
Louis takes a deep breath before launching into his next line of thought.   
            “Well, _Zayn_ ,” which he says like an insult, “I think that maybe you should consider the fact that they don’t want to be married to you-”  
            “Could just share.”  
            “I mean it’s not like you’re actually gods gift to mankind – I – what?” 

Zayn leans forward to press a kiss to the very center of Louis’ forehead.   
            “Could just share,” he says again.   
Before Louis gets the chance to say anything else Zayn drops an even quicker kiss to his mouth, like a gift.   
Then he stands and walks away.

…

Liam comes to him, which Zayn has to admit is a nice bonus.   
            “Is there…” he pauses and rubs at the back of his neck, “something going on?”   
Sometimes Zayn forgets how perceptive Liam really is.   
He makes an inquisitive noise, never one to give something away when he doesn’t have to.   
“Louis and Niall have been thick as thieves the past couple days.  I’m a bit concerned?”   
            “I don’t think they’re up to anything,” Zayn offers.   
Liam doesn’t really look pleased or displeased at that.   
            “No,” he agrees after a moment.  “It’s just…odd.”   
Zayn shrugs.   
            “Maybe ‘s just tour.”   
            “Yeah?” Liam asks, lines on his brow threatening to smooth out.   
Zayn shrugs again, offers a comforting smile. 

            “Need to relax bro.”   
            “Yeah,” Liam sighs, dropping down next to him and tugging a pillow into his lap.   
Zayn locks his phone and slips it into his pocket before angling himself toward Liam.   
            “Alright?”   
Liam sighs but nods – which means no.   
  
            “Turn,” Zayn says.   
There’s a flash of a grateful smile before Liam obeys.   
Zayn squeezes Liam’s shoulders firmly, humming sympathetically when Liam’s body almost immediately sags.   
“There you go babe.”

            “I just hope they know,” Liam says later, when Zayn’s lying on top of him, one hand tangled loosely in the collar of his shirt, “that if they need to talk – or anything – that I’ll be there for them.”   
Zayn hums.  
            “They know babe – promise.  We all do.”   
            “Good,” Liam sighs.   
He stretches a bit, laying a wide hand over Zayn’s back, and settles again. 

…

If things are tense for a couple days, which they are, Zayn doesn’t actually mention it out loud.  Harry’s been distant, constantly on his mobile.   
Niall is pretending he’s not avoiding Louis which has only made Louis cling to Liam.   
Liam watches all of these proceedings with a frown that only grows. 

            “We’re alright,” Liam says, smoke curling up and above all their heads, “aren’t we?”   
            “Fine,” Louis says, flicking away some ash and taking a drag off his cigarette.   
            “Maybe we’ll have a movie night,” Zayn suggests quietly.   
He ignores Louis’ pointed look.   
            “Tonight?” Liam asks.   
            “Yeah,” Zayn says.  “Why not?”   
Liam blows out a long breath.   
            “Alright,” he says.  “Yeah.” 

His phone starts buzzing then and he stomps out his cigarette before heading back inside the bus.   
There’s a short beat of silence.   
            “Malik,” Louis mutters, taking a short, sharp drag.  He flicks his hair out of his face and exhales.  “What do you think you are doing?”   
            “What do you think I think I’m doing?”   
Louis scoffs at that.   
            “It’s like…it’s like you’re trying to date all of us or summat.”  
   
Zayn doesn’t say anything for a moment.   
The next several moments they just smoke their cigarettes together.   
Zayn’s not sure he was expecting Louis to get right to the core of things so quickly.   
            “And?” he finally ventures, feeling near naked. 

            “Well I’m going to help you,” Louis says finally.  He pauses to drop the end of his cigarette and steps on it harder than necessary.  “Obviously.”   
Zayn hums, shooting him a quick look.   
“Harry’d be on board,” Louis says.  “You know that, though.  Thinks you’re dead sexy anyway.”   
Zayn hums again.   
“Niall’ll come back around,” Louis says next.   
            “Did you…?” Zayn lets the sentence linger, sucking on his cigarette and letting the smoke fill up his lungs.   
Louis looks away, crossing his arms over his chest.   
He crosses his ankles too, leaning back against the bus the next moment.   
            “Yeah,” he says quietly, honestly.   
  
Zayn can’t help a bit of a smirk.   
            “Didn’t think Niall would be your first.”   
            “He wasn’t,” Louis says.   
            “X Factor doesn’t count.”   
Louis shrugs.   
            “What we going to do about Liam then?”   
            “Let’s go talk to the lads.” 

…

Unsurprisingly Harry’s on board straightaway.   
Niall doesn’t take much convincing though, cheeks flushed pink as he glances around to all of them rapidly.   
            “All of us,” he says, as if to double check.   
            “Is there another option?”   
Niall shrugs.   
            “Don’t think there is,” Harry offers.   
            “So, tonight?”  
            “Not tonight,” Zayn says decisively.   
Louis looks rather put out at this and Zayn nearly laughs.   
“Baby steps, Lou.”

…

They shove the beds together in Zayn’s room that night, crowding together in the middle.   
Zayn makes sure to save a spot for Liam, pressing a kiss to his temple as they settle together.   
Liam makes a questioning noise but doesn’t say anything.   
Zayn wraps an arm around his waist and makes sure they’ve each got a pillow.   
Louis shoots him a long look right before Niall kills the lights.   
Zayn doesn’t mention it. 

…

In the morning Harry’s wrapped around him like a needy trench coat.   
Zayn can’t say he minds.   
He runs a hand through Harry’s hair, fingertips catching on a few tangles.   
            “Mm,” Harry hums.  “Morning.”   
            “Everyone else go back to their rooms?”   
            “Mmhm.  Didn’t want to sleep alone,” Harry explains.   
            “Don’t mind,” Zayn says, scratching at his scalp. 

Harry blinks at him a few times.    
            “If you did mind,” he says, tongue flicking out over his lips, “I could make it up to you.”   
            “Yeah?”   
A hand creeps across his hip, fingertips pausing at the band of his pants.   
Zayn rolls his hips slightly before his brain manages to catch up.   
Harry smirks, tossing the sheet away before letting his eyes rake back up Zayn’s body.   
            “That was quick.”   
Zayn snorts quickly.   
            “Don’t flatter yourself Hazza.” 

If possible, Harry only looks more amused.   
            “Hashtag I woke up like this,” he says, lips curling around the words.  
Zayn groans, flopping back onto the pillows and covering his face with a hand.   
“No one appreciates me,” Harry sighs.   
  
            “You literally have hundreds of thousands of fans,” Zayn reminds him.  “You’re just not funny.”   
            “Well now I’m not going to blow you,” Harry huffs.   
When Zayn peeks at him he’s got his arms crossed over his chest, pouting hugely. 

Zayn shrugs as if it doesn’t really matter either way.   
Harry huffs again.   
            “Think I’ll have a smoke,” Zayn says.  
            “You could at least pretend to be put out,” Harry says, as dryly as he’s capable of.   
            “Wouldn’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Zayn returns.   
There’s a smile tugging at his lips, he ignores it.   
            “I do want to,” Harry says.  He pouts a bit longer before sighing dramatically.  “Suppose I’ll have to prove it.” 

            “You’re ridiculous,” Zayn says, “and I love you.”   
            “Love you too,” Harry smiles up at him.  “Now get your pants off.”

…

All in all it’s a great morning, until Louis catches sight of them.   
            “Oi,” he snaps, “why’ve you got your sex faces on?  I thought we were waiting!”   
            “Who said we were waiting?” Harry asks, reaching across for an orange.   
            “It was implied,” Louis insists.   
There’s a beat of silence and then a quiet, but determined,  
            “I’m sorry…what?”  
  
They all turn to Liam slowly.   
            “We wanna date you,” Niall blurts, laughing loudly before taking a large sip of orange juice. 

Unsurprisingly, Liam doesn’t look thrilled at this piece of information.   
He doesn’t say anything though, pushing his chair back and standing.   
The rest of them sit in silence as he leaves.   
            “Well that went about as well as could be expected,” Louis sighs, biting off a piece of sausage.   
            “Not exactly what I had in mind,” Zayn agrees. 

They all give Liam some space, because it’s clear that he needs it.   
But about two hours later Zayn searches him out.   
Liam’s been known to get things wrong before and it’s best to correct him before things get too out of hand.   
Or even further out of hand Zayn supposes. 

Liam’s on the balcony of his room, a cigarette that’s more ash than anything else dangling between his fingers.   
He sighs as Zayn steps out, locking his phone and slipping it into his pocket.   
Zayn doesn’t say anything immediately, just slips out his own pack of cigarettes and taps one out.   
            “Got a light?”  
Liam offers his lighter.   
The silence lingers as Zayn lights his cigarette and takes his first inhale.   
            “No one’s texted an apology,” Liam says, “so I’m assuming that wasn’t some sort of prank gone wrong.” 

Zayn lets out a stream of smoke.  
            “Not a prank,” he confirms.   
He can feel Liam watching him.   
“Does it freak you out?”   
Zayn doesn’t think of himself as a coward very often but it’s much easier to wait for the answer to this question without looking at Liam.   
            “Probably not as much as it should,” Liam admits. 

They both keep smoking in an effort to fill up the silence, Liam lighting another when his cigarette finally burns out.  
            “What if it doesn’t work,” Liam says, quickly followed by, “what if it messes up the band?”   
  
It’s not like Zayn hasn’t thought of that – but he’s still not quite sure what to say.   
            “We’d figure it out,” Zayn says finally.  “We always do.”   
            “But like…all of us?”   
Zayn nods.   
            “That’d be…crazy.”   
            “Crazier than all of this?”   
Liam hums at that, brow still furrowed. 

            “I know this all has an expiration date,” Zayn sighs, flicking away his cigarette.  “Maybe we to doo Li, but I want to be with you lads.  I love all of you more than I probably should.  Just…think about it, yeah?”   
Liam’s watching him again, lips pursed like he’s going to say something. 

It’s not until this moment that Zayn realizes he should have come to Liam first.   
It’s not like they can do this without him.  It’s not like they can really do anything without him.   
He should have just been direct with him from the start.   
 _I love you.  I want to be with you.  Can’t do it without you mate.  
_ He hopes Liam can see the words in his face, maybe his eyes.   
It seems like he’s said too much already and Zayn can’t do anything to make the words come out.

            “C’mon,” Liam says, stubbing out his cigarette and nodding towards his room.   
Zayn follows him in, watching as Liam closes the door behind them and draws the curtains across it.   
            “Alright?” Zayn asks, unsure what else to say.   
            “Just,” Liam makes an aborted gesture with his hand.   
            “Just what Li?”   
Liam sighs, obviously frustrated.   
            “Kiss me,” Liam exhales.  “I just need to-”  
He cuts off as Zayn cups his cheeks, drawing their faces closer together.   
“See if this works,” Liam whispers nervously, licking his lips. 

Zayn rubs his thumbs along Liam’s cheeks, wanting to stretch this moment as long as he can.   
This could all go terribly wrong and this moment, this one right here, could be the catalyst of it all.   
Liam’s blushing, eyes impossibly wide as he looks down at Zayn.   
Zayn draws himself closer.   
His lungs feel impossibly big – too big to work properly.   
And when Zayn can’t stand it any longer, he finally slides his lips to fit against Liam’s. 

In that first moment, that electric brush of lips it’s only a kiss.   
Then Liam’s hands grip at Zayn’s shirt and tug him even closer.   
Their mouths slip away at the motion and Liam’s quick to kiss Zayn again and again.   
Short, quick kisses that ignite like firecrackers.  
  
Zayn teases the tip of his tongue along the bow of Liam’s upper lip, thrilling at Liam’s moan.         
            “Okay,” Liam says, drawing away slowly.  “Okay, yeah that…yeah.”   
Zayn tucks his hands in his back pockets to keep from reaching for him again.   
            “Yeah?”   
Liam chuckles, rubbing at the back of his neck.   
            “All of us though?”   
Zayn nods.   
            “All of us.”

…

They’re taking things slow – or trying to at least.   
If Zayn’s perfectly honest about it it’s not like much changes between them.   
They still fit too closely together.  They still drive each other insane some days.   
But it’s good.  Better than Zayn could have imagined before he knew these four boys.   
And unlike their fame, that burns too hot to last, this feels like a slow, comfortable smolder.   
Like the coals down at the bottom of the fire.  The ones that glow yellow-orange for hours and hours. 

            “You did this,” Louis says to him during one of their smoke breaks.   
            “Did what?” Zayn questions, inhaling smoke again.   
Louis watches him a moment.  
            “You got us all together, didn’t you?”   
Zayn doesn’t say what he’s immediately thinking.   
Which is that it has to be something much bigger than him.  Something like fate or destiny.   
Instead he just smiles and blows out smoke.   
            “Nah mate,” he says, “not really.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I adored this prompt so, so much and someday I'm gonna write the sex this fic deserves..


End file.
